The three pillars of sustainability have a direct impact on the fashion industry. Through research, ISEM aims to understand in depth the impacts of the entire fashion value chain and help the sector in its constant transformation.
European Resale Fashion
Research project on motives for buying and selling second-hand clothing on online platforms.
Partners: Université Paris Nanterre, ISEM Fashion Business School - Universidad De Navarra, Glasgow Caledonian University, Amd - Akademie Mode &Amp; Design/Freseniu University, Comegi - Centro de Investigação Em Organizações, Mercados e Engenharia, Industrial- Universidade Lusíada , FFI- Fast Forward Innovation Unipessoal Lda.
Research articles
Use of AI Innovative solutions for reducing fashion online returns.
María-Ángeles Burguera, Silvia Pérez-Bou (2024). Global Fashion Management Conference 2024 Global Fashion Management Conference at Milan (2024.07) p.26
Technological innovation in service of the circular economy in the fashion supply chain: Exploring the Made in Italy perspective.
Eleonora Acciai, Silvia Pérez-Bou (2024). Global Fashion Management Conference 2024 Global Fashion Management Conference at Milan (2024.07) p.93
Education for Sustainability, the Link Between Food and Fashion Industries: Case-Based Learning.
Silvia Pérez-Bou, María Ángeles Burguera, Silvia Mazzucotelli Salice, and Ludovica Carini (2024). In I. Cantista et al. (Eds.): GFC 2023, Fashion for the Common Good, pp. 175-190, 2024. Education for Sustainability, the Link Between Food and Fashion Indust
Fashion for the Common Good.
Isabel Cantista, Elaine L. Ritch, Linda Shearer, Silvia Pérez-Bou, Sonika Soni Khar (Editors) (2024). Proceedings Global Fashion Conference November 16th-18th 2023. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-031-50251-4 Fashion for the Common Good.
Communicating sustainability in the EU: The case of the refashion campaign.
Teresa Sádaba, Silvia Pérez-Bou (2024). In "Challenges of Communication in the European Union". Book of Abstracts, pp. 50-51. ISBN: 978-84-1177-039-2.
Educating sustainability: Challenges and opportunities of an integrated approach.
"This contribution questions how the combined approach of digital and interdisciplinary teaching methods in international educational contexts can affect students' knowledge, behaviour and attitudes towards sustainability. To this end, the paper analyses data collected during the testing of two learning modules developed within the Erasmus+ project "Fashion & Food synergy for sustainability"."
Eleonora Noia, Silvia Pérez-Bou, Silvia Mazzucotelli Salice, Ludovica Carini & María Ángeles Burguera Pérez. Year 2023
"Are regulatory requirements antecedent of internal GSCM practices in the textile industry? The case of Spain".
"This study aimed to investigate whether the regulations acted as drivers for implementing internal practices in Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) in the fashion and textile industry in Spain. It was a part of a broader study in which drivers and barriers of both internal and external practices were identified. The results showed that the regulatory requirements do not influence the implementation of GSCM practices in the textile and fashion companies in Spain. Indeed, there were until now, few regulations mainly related to waste, and many recommendations focused on the circular economy, but there were not mandatory. The new regulations coming from the European Union may change the trend and act as drivers, but companies should prepare to adapt to this shift".
Silvia Pérez-Bou, Juan Carlos Real, Ignacio Cepeda. Year 2022
"Drivers and Practices in the Sustainability of Green Supply Chain Performance: The Case of the Textile-Fashion Industry in Spain."
"This study aims to identify the main drivers influencing internal green supply chain management (GSCM) practices carried out by companies in the textile-fashion sector in Spain. This research also analyzes how these companies are using these practices to improve the economic and environmental performance of GSCM. The analysis was conducted with 166 companies with at least 10 or more employees using a survey-based methodology employing the Partial Least Square (PLS) technique. The results indicate that imposed regulatory requirements are not a direct antecedent of internal GSCM practices. Environmental awareness is also not a determining factor for the implementation of internal GSCM practices. Internal motivations for economic benefits and cost savings (energy and development of cleaner processes) are significant in internal GSCM practices, being more influential in internal process GSCM practices (green production, green logistics and internal environmental management). External pressures are significant in internal GSCM practices and equally influential. Internal process GSCM practices do not influence economic performance, but do influence environmental performance, while internal product GSCM practices (green design and packaging) equally positively influence economic and environmental performance."
Juan Carlos Real, Ignacio Cepeda, Silvia Pérez-Bou. Year 2022
The challenge of sustainability teaching in Fashion: a method merging practitioners and researchers
Sustainability is becoming a major issue in teaching and research in several industries and universities syllabus. The article is an outcome of a key element of the University of Navarra's strategy for 2025 that includes good practices through teaching in sustainability. Authors ideated a project to elaborate teaching material (that might serve as a basis for research) on sustainability in the fashion industry, with the special executive program called The Right
Silvia Pérez-Bou, Pedro Mir, Patricia San Miguel, Teresa Sádaba. Year 2022
Politics, sustainability and innovation in fast fashion and luxury fashion groups
The paper discusses the research carried out to analyze to what extent the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations, the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, and the Fashion Pact influenced the policies and practices of the signatory companies. Four of the ten fashion companies founding signatories of the UN Fashion Charter and the Fashion Pact were selected: Inditex, H&M, Burberry, and Kering. They represented two segments: mass-market and luxury. A thorough analysis of information publicly available from the fashion companies and organisations related to them was accomplished. The concept of National and Regional Innovation Systems was explored as a framework, for analysis and decision-making processes. The results showed that political initiative was decisive in guiding companies in their sustainability strategies, and collaborative activities with other companies, from new based-technology companies (NTBFs) to logistics.
Silvia Pérez Bou and Isabel Cantista. Year 2022
How to communicate sustainability: From the corporate Web to E-commerce. The case of the fashion industry
Sustainability strategy at companies has become a key business and management aspect for the development and success of an enterprise. The communication of strategies and actions relating to sustainability has become increasingly important for both companies and brands. This research studies the communication process that forms part of the sustainable strategy of fashion companies, ranging from the corporate website to e-commerce, and it proposes improvements for sustainability communication. Two new models are presented: the Operational Model for Evaluating Fashion Corporate Websites (OMEFCW) and the Operational Model for Evaluating Fashion E-Commerce (OMEFeC), based on the core dimensions of online sustainability communication (orientation, structure, ergonomics and content-OSEC), as established by Siano. In order to obtain an optimal view of the fashion industry, four corporate groups-two luxury fashion groups (Kering Group and Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH)) and two fast fashion groups (H&M Group and Intidex)-are compared. In addition, all of the e-commerce operations of the groups' fashion brands are analyzed, a total of 32 brands. The results show that it is necessary to continue improving in terms of the communication of sustainability within the fashion industry, whilst demonstrating the great deficiency that exists regarding the communication of sustainability in the case of the brands' e-commerce operations, which are precisely the web pages most visited by consumers.
Patricia SanMiguel, Silvia Pérez-Bou, Teresa Sádaba, Pedro Mir-Bernal. Year 2021
Fashion Stores as potential educators of conscious consumers. 2 case studies: H&M Group and Inditex
The retail store, the space where fashion and architecture meet, could be a good showroom of the sustainable and circular practices of the brands, both in terms of products and buildings, but this potential seems to be ignored by now. In a moment of rethinking the physical stores because of the Covid 19 pandemic and the growth of online markets, we wonder if the fashion stores could play an important role in educating consumers towards a more sustainable behaviour. This study addresses the issue through the analysis of the two biggest mass-market European fashion players: Inditex and H&M.
Silvia Pérez-Bou, María Valerio, Patricia Eugu. Year 2021
Filling the gap between Sustainable Fashion and Circular Architecture: the Retail Store
This study focuses on the space where both disciplines meet: the retail store. Do the physical stores reflect the strong sustainable commitment of their brands? How to build circular shops in which the sustainable values of fashion brands are fully displayed is a topic not yet exhaustively addressed. This study fills this gap, through the development of a Circular Design Guide for Retail Stores. It is aimed to form a basis for brands in the design of their physical retail spaces, and to help achieve the final transmission to the customer of their strong commitment to sustainability and circularity.
Silvia Pérez-Bou, María Valerio. Year 2021
Fashion brands websites as a potential channel to educate sustainable consumers
Silvia Pérez-Bou, Patricia San-Miguel. Year 2021
"Crisis communication in the fashion sector: the Rana Plaza events, worst accident in the history of fashion manufacturing" - Conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research - Leicester, UK from 27-31 July 2016.
"On 24 April 2013 at 9 o'clock in the morning local time, the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka collapsed. This factory produced clothing for 29 different fashion brands. The final casualty figures came to 1,129 dead and 2,515 injured. The Rana Plaza case is the worst accident in the history of fashion manufacturing. The management of the crisis on the part of the individual brands was extremely diverse and led them towards different communications scenarios. However, another crisis emerged at that moment: the industry itself and its manufacturing methods were effectively called into question. In fact, this issue has continued to be controversial and has led to an interesting public debate. Through the case analyzed here, this paper seeks to meet three objectives: a) stress the importance of communication with regard to the management of the crisis; b) highlight the link between crisis communication and corporate social responsibility; c) focus attention on the fashion industry, where intangible values acquire considerable importance and, therefore, are especially affected by crises. The events at Rana Plaza raise different questions that pose a challenge regarding crisis communication, given that we are dealing with an industry-wide crisis featuring multiple voices and multiple reactions".
Teresa Sádaba, Patricia SanMiguel. Year 2016
Fashion on fire: responses on Bangladesh crisis
In recent years, issues related to sustainability and ethical behavior in the fashion industry have begun to be studied from a critical point of view (Emberley, 1998; Moisander and Personen, 2002). With the emergence of the "Fast Fashion" model, the production and distribution of fashion has changed its rhythm and requires low-cost manufacturing tools that are mainly found in developing countries. In these countries, issues related to working conditions and the environment of workers in a large-scale industry raise relevant ethical questions (Aspers and Skov, 2006), and in this context, crises and their communication are decisive for the reputation of brands, and although the knowledge of crisis management has already been developed (Pearson and Clair, 1998), in the light of the actions analyzed here, the consequences that such management can have on brands can be observed. This paper will focus its analysis on the crisis experienced in Bangladesh in April 2013 and how the responses of the different fashion companies take place. In this way, it raises issues of relevance for reflection and, above all, for future actions.
Teresa Sádaba and Patricia San Miguel. Year 2014
Hoss Intropia: a Spanish brand that is born with sustainability as its main value proposition
Abstract: Hoss Intropia is one of the Spain "s largest fashion brands and the first one that since its birth aims to generate the lowest possible impact in society and environment. Sustainability in the fashion industry has become a widely discussed issue. The fast fashion brands contribute to this matter. It is widely accepted th at the fashion industry needs new attitudes towards ethical and environmental practices. In this paper we will try to investigate the case study of susta inability in the brand strategy. Hoss Intropia was created in 1994, has presence in 48 countries with 1 600 points of sale. We consider that nowadays this Spa nish brand is a good example not only for new trends in branding but also in the way they are influenced by this matter within all the business activities. This case study takes us to be able to be able to offer s ome conclusions extendable to o ther brands and highlights the role of sustainability as a strategy goal.
Verónica Arribas, Teresa Díaz, María Eugenia Josa, Patricia Sanmiguel, Teresa Sádaba. Year 2013
Books
Sustainable customer experiences: ECOALF: Retail experience - visceral, behavioral and reflective design for engaging a sustainability community
Silvia Pérez-Bou, Javier Antón Sancho and Nicola Arcenas (2024). In Customer Experience in Fashion Retailing, Edited by Bethan Alexander. Routledge.